Christchurch’s Integrated Safety Response (ISR) pilot has helped almost 21,000 victims and perpetrators of family violence since it was set up, say Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

“Today marks one year since the ISR pilot was established in Christchurch and already it is showing signs of being a significant game changer in the way that agencies and NGOs respond to family violence,” says Ms Adams.

“By working together and sharing information, the agencies and NGOs that make up the Christchurch ISR team have developed more than 6,400 safety plans targeted to families that the pilot has identified as at risk of violence.

“The pilot is helping us to better understanding the nature of family violence and how we can best respond in order to keep families safe and stop perpetrators from hurting their loved ones.”

Data from the pilot shows there were 8,000 family violence incidents reported in Christchurch in the year to June. Just over half of the incidents relate to verbal abuse, with physical harm making up 21 per cent of incidents.

“New Zealand still has an appallingly high rate of family violence. Seeing the hard numbers reported through the ISR pilot reinforces the Government’s commitment to building a better system for dealing with and reducing family violence,” says Mrs Tolley.

“The Christchurch ISR team is about to move into a new expanded site which is a good indication of the impact their work is having on families and of the demand for their services.”

Following the establishment of the Christchurch ISR pilot in July 2016, a second pilot site was established in Waikato in October 2016. Budget 2017 invested $22.4 million to extend the pilot through to 2019.

Notes:

Table: Types of incidents reported throughout the Christchurch ISR pilot between July 2016 and June 2017